Crofton Village Garden Club is one of many local organizations participating in conversations with community leaders about developing a rain garden between Crawford Boulevard and Lake Louise. For inspiration, we don’t have to look far.
A 30–person coalition of students at the University of Maryland created a rain garden of native plants on a strip of land between Lot 1 and Campus Drive.
According to a report by Claire Saravia for The Diamondback, this garden will help slow down the flow of rainwater that runs from campus parking lots into a local waterway known as Guilford Run. By doing so, it will minimize erosion on the stream banks caused by fast-moving water. It will also lessen the amount of pollution flowing into nearby creeks and streams through the use of native plants that feed off nitrogen and phosphorous – two chemicals that are picked up by rainwater when it hits pavement. The plants will filter these chemicals out of collected rainwater before it pollutes area waterways.
Crofton organizations and individuals working on plans for a rain garden near Lake Louise may want to take a look at this project in College Park. For one thing, the entire project cost $9,000 – not even half the number projected for the Crofton rain garden.
Maybe we shouldn’t rely only on for-profit rain garden consultants and contractors when we could be looking to the Maryland Sustainability Engineering group at the University of Maryland.
Filed under: Conservation
